CHAPTER 13: THE BARONESS'S GAMBIT
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The study felt different. The air, once thick with my father's weary pragmatism, now crackled with a tense, decisive energy. The scroll from Katarina lay on the table between us like a declared war.
"You cannot go," my father said, his voice final. "It is a trap. She will have you seized the moment you are within her walls. Or assassinated on the road."
"Or he goes with a full company of our best men," Cassian countered, his hand resting on his sword hilt. "We show them we are not to be trifled with. We are Starks of Stonecrest, not frightened peasants."
"And that would be seen as an act of aggression," my father shot back. "It would give her and the Crown all the justification they need to label us rebels and send the royal army. We are strong behind our walls, but we cannot fight the entire kingdom."
They both looked at me. The Dragon Baron's first true test of statecraft.
"Cassian is right that we must show strength," I said, my voice calm. "Father is right that we cannot show aggression." I picked up the scroll. "She demands I 'present myself.' She does not specify how."
A slow, grim smile spread across Cassian's face as he understood. "You don't mean to ride."
"I mean to make an entrance." I looked from my father's concerned face to my brother's eager one. "I will go alone. Or rather, I will appear alone. Nyx will be my escort, my bodyguard, and my statement. I will not enter her keep. We will meet in the field before her gates, on neutral ground."
The audacity of the plan silenced them. It was a move from a position of such overwhelming, bizarre power that it broke their conventional political frameworks.
"It's... unprecedented," my father finally said. "To treat with a noble from dragonback..."
"Everything we are doing is unprecedented," I replied. "We are not playing by their rules anymore. We are writing new ones. We answer the summons, but on our terms. We show power, but not threat. We are not rebels; we are a new, unclassifiable entity."
I could see the calculation in my father's eyes. He was a traditionalist, but he was not a fool. He saw the brutal elegance of it. "And what will you say to her?"
"I will tell her the truth. A version of it. That Stonecrest was saved by an alliance with a powerful, neutral entity. That we seek no conflict with our neighbors, but we will defend our sovereignty. And that the demonic threat is far from over."
[New Quest: The Field of Treaties]
[Objective: Navigate the meeting with Baroness Katarina without triggering open hostilities. Secure Stonecrest's de facto independence.]
[Reward: 500 Plot Points, Regional Reputation, Unlock 'Diplomacy' Sub-module.]
[Failure: Regional war, condemnation by the Crown.]
The stakes were set. This was more than a meeting; it was the first step in establishing my empire's place on the map.
The next two days were a whirlwind of preparation of a different sort. I spent my remaining 300 Plot Points not on blueprints, but on knowledge.
[Purchase Confirmed: Noble Heraldry & Protocol (Aethelgard Kingdom). - 50P]
[Purchase Confirmed: Basic Diplomacy & Negotiation Tactics. - 100P]
[Purchase Confirmed: Aura Projection & Intimidation Techniques (Novice). - 150P]
The knowledge integrated, giving me the tools to navigate the treacherous waters of noble etiquette, to choose my words with precision, and to carry myself with the unconscious authority my new station demanded.
On the morning of the third day, I stood in the courtyard. I wore not my practical travel clothes, but the finest tunic and cloak we could muster,a dark grey, embroidered with the stark white mountain of my house. At my hip was a sword, more for ceremony than combat.
Nyx descended from her tower, landing with a soft whump that sent dust devils dancing across the stones. The defenders, now accustomed to her, still paused in their work to watch with a mixture of fear and pride.
You are tense, her thought brushed against my mind. This is not a battle of claws, but of words. I do not like words.
Neither do I, I thought back, stroking the smooth, cool scales of her neck. But today, words are our sharpest weapons.
I climbed onto her back, finding my familiar place. My father, Cassian, and Luna watched from the steps of the keep.
"Bring no dishonor to our name," my father said, his voice thick.
"Come back, brother," Luna whispered.
Cassian simply met my eyes and gave a sharp, respectful nod.
With a powerful beat of her wings, Nyx launched us into the sky. Stonecrest shrank beneath us, the new grey wall a stark line against the green, the tiny figures in the field like scattered seeds. We turned south southeast, following the river towards Riverbend.
The flight was breathtaking. From this height, the world was a map laid out for my inspection. I saw the scars of the demon incursion, the burned patches of forest, the abandoned farms. I saw the strategic value of the land, the rivers and passes I would need to control.
All too soon, the orderly, fertile lands of Riverbend came into view. And then, her keep. It was larger than Stonecrest, built of white limestone, nestled in a bend of the river. It spoke of wealth and stability, everything my home had never known.
As we approached, panic erupted. Alarm bells clanged. We could see tiny figures scrambling on the walls, forming defensive lines.
"Circle the field before the main gate," I instructed Nyx. "Do not land. Just... hover."
She obeyed, her vast wings beating slowly, holding us aloft about a hundred feet above the open ground directly in front of the main gate. We were well out of ballista range, but close enough to be utterly, terrifyingly present.
I focused, activating the [Aura Projection] technique. I wasn't just a man on a dragon. I was a focal point of power, a calm, unmovable center in the storm of our arrival.
The gates of Riverbend did not open. But a small postern gate did. A single figure on a white horse, flanked by two guards, rode out into the field. Baroness Katarina.
Even from this distance, I could see she was everything the stories said: beautiful, sharp-featured, with an iron spine. She reined her horse to a stop directly below us and looked up, her face a masterful mask of cold composure, though I could see the white knuckled grip she had on her reins.
"Leo Stark," her voice carried, clear and cutting, though she had to shout slightly. "You received my summons. Yet you do not stand before me."
I had the high ground in every conceivable way. I made my voice carry, layering it with just a hint of projected authority, making it resonate without seeming to shout. "Baroness Katarina. You requested my presence. Here I am. The air is clearer here, don't you think? Fewer... listening ears."
Her eyes narrowed. She had not expected this. She had expected a cowed boy or a blustering warlord. She had not expected a sovereign treating as an equal.
"You bring a monster to our doorstep. You threaten the peace."
"I bring a guardian," I corrected, my tone calm, diplomatic. "The same guardian that saved Stonecrest from the demon tide that your own forces, I note, did nothing to oppose. We are not a threat to the peace, Baroness. We are the reason there is still peace in this region to protect."
I let the words hang in the air. I saw the flicker in her eyes. My counter-accusation had struck home.
"The Crown...."
"The Crown is far away," I interrupted gently, a calculated risk. "And the threats are at our door. Stonecrest stands. We ask for nothing but the right to continue standing, to guard this border as we have always done. We seek no conflict with Riverbend. In fact, we propose a new understanding. One of mutual respect between neighbors."
I was not asking for permission. I was stating a new reality.
She was silent for a long time, her gaze shifting from me to Nyx, whose slow, powerful wingbeats were the only sound. She was reassessing the entire board.
"You are... changed, Leo Stark," she said finally, her voice losing some of its sharpness, replaced by a wary curiosity.
"The world is changing, Baroness," I replied. "The question is, will you change with it?"
The first move in the great game had been made. And I had not blinked.
CHAPTER 13 COMPLETE
Next: The tense negotiation continues. Leo must secure a non-aggression pact and feel out a potential alliance, all while managing the fears and ambitions of a powerful neighbor.
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The Dragon Baron has made his opening move. The board is shaking. Now, he must secure his gains.